[Kuskid]

I've always interpreted "making your teammates better" as knowing how to best use your abilities to make the game easier for your teammates. There are plenty of guys with great basketball skills that just don't make things easier on the other 4 guys out on the court with them. Look at somebody like Pistol Pete. He was obviously an incredible scorer, ballhandler, and passer, but there's a reason why he never really won ****. Some guys have all the skills, but their playing styles just aren't conducive to a team game. Of course Kobe doesn't have a magical quality this year where his presence on the court makes Luke Walton a better shooter or anything like that, but he's definitely adapted his style to get his teammates more involved, that's apparent just from watching games.

[buduan]

As somebody who has seen 90% or more of Kobes games since he came into the league, I would disagree. He hasn't played any differently than the last 2 years. He's gotten better teammates and the ones who have stuck have improved greatly.

[IceMan23and3]

Look, the "Makes his Teammates Better" is a way that the media can say, yes he's really good but he's an ******* and we won't vote for him.

[sherako]

it isn't a myth. it is a reality.

you have to understand what people mean when they talk, instead of being overly literal. by 'making teammates better', what is meant is that the fact a great player can make the game easier for his not as talented teammates. on both ends. for example, Tim Duncan is a great interior defender. one of the best to ever do it, in fact. because of this, Bruce Bowen, Ginobili and the rest are able to play up on their assignments, knowing that Tim Duncan will meet the penetrator, should he get by, directly at the rim. and he will do it in a non-fouling manner [most of the time].

or, what most people are referring to when they drop this cliche, is on the offensive end. Magic Johnson had no impact on Worthy's skill-set as a whole, because Worthy had to put in the work, alone, toiling hour after hour, to get those low-post moves he had. but what he did do, was get him easier shots! watching the Showtime Lakers, you see them get dunk after dunk, layup after layup. so, the superstar has no impact on the particular skills a player has, which is what the OP was saying [no player can help Shaq hit midrange jumpshots for instance]. but, where a superstars value comes into play, is in raising the degree of effectiveness any particular skills a player does have.

Worthy could've been a 25+ per game scorer anywhere else but the Lakers. but on those other teams, he would've had to work for each shot, grinding and grunting. why do that when you have a player like Magic who can get you layups and open jump-shots? once again, the degree of each player, and the team as a whole, is raised by a superstar who understands how to do it. if you are a mediocre defender, playing under Tim Duncan's wings can make you look manageable. if you are a decent three-point shooter, you'll look fantastic next to a big-man who can draw and pass out of the double-teams.

conversely, we must put in a quick note that there are many players who do not understand how to best utilize their talent when it comes to the team-game, or making teammates better, as it were. Allen Iverson is the prime example. one of the quickest players I have ever seen, a skilled passer, shooter, finisher, all of it. but he focuses too much energy on getting his own shot in the half-court. too many times he will come down, ball in hand, dribble around for 20 seconds then jack up a shot. or pass it, leaving a teammate in an uncomfortable position. he, doesn't make his teammates better.

ask yourself, does the superstar provide leadership in times of trouble? does he pick up team morale when heads are held heavy? all these things are meant in addition to on the court ability in my estimation.

so in conlusion, there is some merit to the notion. but usually the person mentioning it, knows not what he speaks of.

[CaliCool]

^

R
E
P

[Sir Patchwork]

You can definitely make things easier for your teammates, but at the end of the day they have to come through. Therefore, you can't be too results-based about it. You can't say Kobe making things easy for his teammates just because the team isn't winning. You have to watch the games. Anyone who isn't bias against him saw the space he created, attention he drew, and easy shots he created for his teammates. The only downfall was that he sometimes lost trust in them (understandably) because they didn't come through for him time and time again. You only make the same mistake so many times before you try something different.

[buduan]

Originally Posted by sherako

it isn't a myth. it is a reality.

you have to understand what people mean when they talk, instead of being overly literal. by 'making teammates better', what is meant is that the fact a great player can make the game easier for his not as talented teammates. on both ends. for example, Tim Duncan is a great interior defender. one of the best to ever do it, in fact. because of this, Bruce Bowen, Ginobili and the rest are able to play up on their assignments, knowing that Tim Duncan will meet the penetrator, should he get by, directly at the rim. and he will do it in a non-fouling manner [most of the time].

or, what most people are referring to when they drop this cliche, is on the offensive end. Magic Johnson had no impact on Worthy's skill-set as a whole, because Worthy had to put in the work, alone, toiling hour after hour, to get those low-post moves he had. but what he did do, was get him easier shots! watching the Showtime Lakers, you see them get dunk after dunk, layup after layup. so, the superstar has no impact on the particular skills a player has, which is what the OP was saying [no player can help Shaq hit midrange jumpshots for instance]. but, where a superstars value comes into play, is in raising the degree of effectiveness any particular skills a player does have.

Worthy could've been a 25+ per game scorer anywhere else but the Lakers. but on those other teams, he would've had to work for each shot, grinding and grunting. why do that when you have a player like Magic who can get you layups and open jump-shots? once again, the degree of each player, and the team as a whole, is raised by a superstar who understands how to do it. if you are a mediocre defender, playing under Tim Duncan's wings can make you look manageable. if you are a decent three-point shooter, you'll look fantastic next to a big-man who can draw and pass out of the double-teams.

conversely, we must put in a quick note that there are many players who do not understand how to best utilize their talent when it comes to the team-game, or making teammates better, as it were. Allen Iverson is the prime example. one of the quickest players I have ever seen, a skilled passer, shooter, finisher, all of it. but he focuses too much energy on getting his own shot in the half-court. too many times he will come down, ball in hand, dribble around for 20 seconds then jack up a shot. or pass it, leaving a teammate in an uncomfortable position. he, doesn't make his teammates better.

ask yourself, does the superstar provide leadership in times of trouble? does he pick up team morale when heads are held heavy? all these things are meant in addition to on the court ability in my estimation.

so in conlusion, there is some merit to the notion. but usually the person mentioning it, knows not what he speaks of.

The term "Making teammates better" has been around so long I think some people out there ARE taking it to literally. Especially when you hear how guys are taking a bunch of nobodies into the playoffs when that sometimes simply isn't true. Paul is a perfect example of that. I'm his biggest fan, been touting him as the best PG in the league since he entered the Association. But this year he isn't playing with a bunch of nobodies. He has a very legit squad around him, difference this year from last is that they were healthy all year long.

[bob718]

The best all star player who can make his teammates better is Tmac, hands down. Leading a Yao-less team to a 22 winning streak and right now still in a dogfight with full streangh Utah Jazz. WOW!

[Dre™]

The term is thrown out so much it's lost true value. The way commentators refer to it they just make it seem like some divine ability a great player has, like he can touch a player on the forehead and give him a statline.

Offensively, it's not about making teammates better, the phrase is about your presence taking as much defensive attention off your teammates as possible, in conjunction with your ability to exploit the defense.

AI is a player who draws a lot of defensive attention, but you see him in his forays into the lane, he'll have three players around him and he's still trying to create for himself. A guy like Chris Paul seems like he goes into the lane specifically to draw attention for the kickout/easy pass.

So no, a player can't force his teammates to produce, but it's visually evident to most intelligent people who's selfish to a fault, and who's just selfish.

Defensively, it's harder to be a perimeter player and anchor the defense. I guess if you're able to play a great perimeter player one on one, and the defense doesn't have to trap/double and risk being beat to the open man, you're helping the team.

As a big man it's easier to spot. Your teammates can be a lot more aggressive and create more turnovers on the perimeter with the confidence of having you backing them, not to mention the fact that penetration will be cut down to a certain degree.

[BadBaronRudigor]

I don't think the star so much elevates individual skill sets. Maybe to some degree a great post scorer opens up the perimeter or a outside shooter prevents doubling down but generally this isn't that great a focus.

The way a star makes his teammates better is primarily by installing a team attitude focused on winning. Kevin Garnett this year has got Boston playing great team defense . . . even guys like Ray Allen who weren't exactly known for it are buying into the concept, communicating and putting forth defensive effort. Players who aren't selfish encourage teammates to work harder making their cuts or finding open spots because they know they are going to be rewarded.

Conversely, a selfish star leaves his teammates standing around or making half hearted cuts. Stars who slack off on defense tend to create a mentality of looking only for the highlight play. Stars who put forth little effort at practice set a model for their teammates to do the same. Stars who put on airs or seek special treatment get teammates who look elsewhere.

Kobe has always worked on defense; the selfishness thing was overstated. He hasn't always been a good communicator, but this year whatever he is doing (or whoever the team leader is) is working so Kobe as the star gets the credit. And that's the bottom line. Like NFL quarterbacks, the primary scorers tend to get the media recognition and credit for team success.